It has been 17 years since the Twin Towers fell in the 9/11 attacks.
Of those that survived many suffered illnesses from the debris and smoke while others were left with the memory of that day and those who did not make it out.
To this day there are those who still feel the anger and pain of the loss and suffering associated with those attacks.
Longtime Bronx resident and retired school teacher turned author, Ted Mieszczanski hopes to aid in the healing process for those who need it.
With his most recent book, ‘37 Cents and a Song: A New York City Love Story,’ Mieszczanski takes readers on a journey to help provide a certain perspective with the goal of carrying on despite the hurt, according to Ted.
Mieszczanski described his book as a Russian Matryoska doll; you can open the doll and find another doll and so on.
The same way the doll opens to reveal more is the same way the plot of ‘37 Cents and a Song’ reveals itself.
The book starts off by introducing readers to an unnamed character walking along Grand Concourse.
The character is approached by a beggar who asks him for money.
He gives the man all the change in his pocket, which is exactly 37 cents.
After the beggar belittles him for being cheap, the man reaches back in his pocket and finds 37 cents more.
What this means, readers will have to figure out themselves, but what the main character knows is he must get downtown.
The premise of the story, Mieszczanski said, came to him while on a walk from the Bronx to the westside of Manhattan.
While on that walk he thought about different memories he had, the good and bad and remembered the hurt he felt as a result of the 9/11 attacks.
“I’m not a psychologist, but we all need a little something to help us,” said Mieszczanski.
“For some, that pain is buried deep down.”
“They do the tribute every year and you can’t help but tune in, but it never fully quells the pain,” he continued.
Some of the healing portions of the book discuss love and not just the emotion felt for another person.
Mieszczanski explained the ‘love story’ aspect as also being for all the people of New York City and for the city itself.
While many of the book’s characters are a mystery until you read into them, Mieszczanski said he tried to make the characters of his book diverse.
Ted, who is now in his 70s, said he started to write this book, and a few others, in 2008 and finished it in 2011.
He officially released the book at the start of 2018 because he did not want the piece to be lost to time if anything ever happened to him.
As an author, Mieszczanski has not focused on books sales, but on what his books can do for others.
‘37 Cents and a Song: a NYC Love Story’ can be purchased on Amazon.
